Ultimate Pad Thai (Revised)

Regarding  my previous post on Pad Thai, I feel I did not present enough details and photos. So this presentation is to give more information on Pad Thai to continue from the previous one. Today I made  half recipe. Recipes included with 3 parts of preparation;Pad Thai chili paste, sauce and cooking. A presentation of Egg wrapped and open face Pad Thai. The recipe bring out a nice flavors from the sauce and chili paste together.

Pad Thai chili paste (Yield = 0.5 cup = 118 ml)

We make Pad Thai chill paste to boots the colour and flavours with hint of spiciness.

Ingredients

20 grams dry big chili, today I use dry Cayane chill pepper mixed with another Thai chili,cut, seedless then soak in warm water until soft, Drain and set aside

20 grams Red Shallot, fine chopped

2 1/4 Tbsp Water

50 grams cooking oil, is about 3.5 Tbsp

Preparation

• Blend chili with shallot and water until fine in food processor or by pestle and mortar. Then fry with cooking oil until the sauce became oily and bright colour.

 

Pad Thai sauce (Yield = 500 ml = 0.5 litre or 2.1 cups)

Pad Thai sauce is base for Pad Thai dish and reflected for Pad Thai to be taste as good.

Ingredients

500 ml Tamarind Juice, Tamarind seedless added hot water, or boil and sieve.

~ 450 grams Coconut palm sugar

~ 3.5 Tbsp  Fish sauce

Preparation

• Bring tamarind and palm sugar to a boil until palm sugar dissolved. Add fish sauce and let simmer a few minutes then turn off the stove. The taste this pad Thai sauce is sour-sweet with a taste of saltness. a few note: pad Thai sauce is base on these flavors and is up to personal taste and this sauce bring out the balance of sour sweet first then saltness that you can adjust if you taste would bring the saltness come first.

Pad Thai Ingredients (One serve)

70 grams Rice Sticks, soaked in warm water for 5-7 minutes

1 Tbsp Red shallots, fine choppped

5 -7 Shrimps, peeled or un peel

1 Tbsp  fine chopped pickled turnip

1-2 Tbsp Firm Tofu, Today I use medium-firm tofu, dice cube small

0.5 – 1 Tbsp  Pad Thai chili paste

2 – 4 Tbsp  Pad Thai sauce

2-3 Tbsp Water

2 – 3 Eggs, I use large size, 1-2 eggs to add pad Thai and 1.5 eggs to make egg crape

1/4 cup chinese chives, cut medium long like stick for condiments and cut short about an inch for add at last

1/4 cup Bean sprouts

1 Tbsp Coarsely ground toasted peanuts

condiments: lime wedges, chinese chives, bean sprouts, coarsely chopped toast peanuts, granulated sugar, flaked red chili pepper

garnishes: coriander sprig, chili strips

Preparation

1. Preparation. Have all ingredients in front of you for cooking. I use a wide cast iron pan (diameter 12 inches)  because it is work well for cooking a fast dish like Pad Thai. Using a stainless steel or non stick pan are fine.

2. Heat a pan to medium – high heat add cooking oil, shallot, turnip, tofu and add shrimps to cooked two sides. When ingredients fragrant and start to getting brown push them aside of a pan including shrimps. Add rice stick, chili paste, tamarind sauce and water. At this point, adjust to high heat keep fast stir the noodles get through to absorb the sauce. Cast iron pan cook it pretty fast just 1-2 minutes then make a well, add a few drop of cooking oil in well, crack one egg and let egg set… at this point add Chinese chives, bean sprouts and a table spoon of peanuts then stir the egg alone before all together.  Turn off the heat and remove from a stove.

Short Note: The amount of cooking oil and water will greatly affect  Pad Thai noodles, not enough cooking oil, Pad Thai will be too dry, if too much Pad Thai will be oily.  Water you add not enough the rice stick may not cook or become hard. If you add water too much pad Thai noodles is too soft and mushy wet 🙂

   

Then Make egg crape to wrap Pad Thai

• Use non stick pan, brush little oil and pour beaten egg (it could use about 1.5 eggs per crape) and keep thin flat just like crape. When bottom turn little brown so turn over a pan to a plate. Use a cup to fit brown side of crape in.

Below are comparing feature of Pad Thai that first one added just tamarind sauce and second one added both Pad Thai chill paste and tamarind sauce.

Transfer to a serving plate with condiments and garnish

I want Pad Thai less greasy

From pictures above open face pad thai you may notice pad thai noodles is not dry that you can see some shiny glossy noodles. We can reduce cooking oil when cooking per portion to 1.5 tbsp. total (Estimated)

My pad Thai noodles are mushy

Also See above photo from too long soak rice stick in warm water. Follow the package advice, normally soak rice stick in warm water just 5-7 minutes, which is up to the size of rice sticks. Second from add water during cooking a bit much, Add just about 2 tbsp or one more per portion.

 Practice Cooking often to become expert Pad Thai Chef